Lawmaker threatens TV reporter

Staten Island congressman says "I'll break you in half"

Associated Press

Published 9:08 pm, Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Photo: Jacquelyn Martin

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FILE- This May 9, 2012 file photo shows Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grimm is defending his actions after he physically threatened a reporter at the Capitol after President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014. After cutting the interview short, Grimm told New York cable news station NY1's Michael Scotto, "You ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this (expletive) balcony." He also threatened to "break (Scotto) in half." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) ORG XMIT: NY109 less

FILE- This May 9, 2012 file photo shows Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grimm is defending his actions after he physically threatened a reporter at the Capitol after President ... more

Photo: Jacquelyn Martin

Lawmaker threatens TV reporter

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U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm has never been shy about promoting himself as a tough guy.

When he ran for Congress in 2009, he highlighted his service in the Marine Corps and as an undercover FBI agent.

The Staten Island Republican's tough ways were caught on camera Tuesday night when he threatened a television news reporter.

The confrontation occurred on a balcony in the Capitol following the president's State of the Union address. Grimm walked out of an interview with New York City cable news station NY1 when reporter Michael Scotto tried to ask a last question about a long-running FBI investigation into his campaign finances.

After Scotto finished his report, Grimm stormed back, leaned into Scotto and said, "Let me be clear to you. If you ever do that to me again, I'll throw you off this (expletive) balcony."

Scotto protested, saying he was asking "a valid question."

Grimm glanced at the camera, leaned in again and said, "No. No. You're not man enough. You're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy."

Asked about it soon afterward, Grimm was defiant. In a statement, he said he felt Scotto had been disrespectful and unprofessional.

But after a morning of heavy public criticism, he phoned Scotto to apologize.

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"He said he overreacted," Scotto told The Associated Press. "He said that the behavior that he showed wasn't him. So I accepted the apology."

Later Wednesday, Grimm told a group of reporters that he would probably be getting an earful from his mother.

"The bottom line is, sometimes I wear my emotions on my sleeve," he said. "I was wrong. It shouldn't have happened."

Grimm's treatment of the reporter drew condemnations from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat.

"A leader can't do that. And if the leader does that, those in power, those in the leadership structure have to speak out," he said. "So I would hope that the House leadership says very strongly this is unacceptable behavior."

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, Michael Steel, said "Rep. Grimm has apologized, and the speaker believes that was appropriate."